TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Rick Scott applauded the Florida Prepaid College Board’s historic vote today to reduce plan rates by up to 50 percent, thus saving Floridians millions of dollars. Approximately 18,000 Florida families who have purchased plans since 2008 will receive reimbursements worth $200 million. An additional 22,000 Florida families will have their monthly premiums reduced by a combined $700 million because of the lower rates.
“Reducing Florida Prepaid rates by undoing the previous administration’s tuition hikes was a critical step toward our goal of keeping college affordable,” Governor Scott said in a statement. “As I travel throughout our state, parents tell me they want to be able to save for their child’s future and this is another way we’re making higher education more affordable for Florida families. Every child should have the opportunity to earn a degree at an affordable price so they can live their dream.”
These reductions are possible because of House Bill 851, which passed during the 2014 Legislative Session and was signed by Governor Scott because it would lower the cost of tuition for all Floridians. The law reduced the maximum annual increase of the tuition differential fee to six percent for pre-eminent State Universities (Florida State University and the University of Florida) and eliminated it for other State Universities. The cost of tuition and fees in 2007 was less than $15,000, but skyrocketed to nearly $54,000 in 2014 after several years of double digit increases in the tuition differential fee. In 2015, with the new law and reductions approved today by the Florida Prepaid Board, the newborn plan cost is anticipated to be $27,000 or less.
Source: Governor Scott Press Release
